


Buizel's Choice

by Asa_de_Ouro



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bigotry & Prejudice, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gaslighting, Misogyny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-16 14:13:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14166630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asa_de_Ouro/pseuds/Asa_de_Ouro
Summary: After 14 years, Buizel’s childhood friend and arranged fiancé, a Dewott that is the 8th son in a long line of warriors, comes back into her life, along with her visiting family. However, she’s grown too attached to her close friend Simisage to give him up. Can she convince her brothers that Simisage is a good Pokemon? And is Dewott the same pleasant young man he was as a little boy?Warnings for: Arranged marriage; attempted rape (and subsequent justification); misogyny; gaslighting; type-based prejudice.(The original outline of this fanfiction was written in 2014.)





	1. Cast of Characters

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Buizel - Originally from Unova Route 14, she now resides in the river running through Pinwheel Forest. She is the only daughter in a large family of 4 brothers (3 older; 1 younger). Dewott was her friend during their childhood, but after 14 years have passed, she doesn’t remember him or that she’s arranged to be married to him, and as such, she is hesitant. She is very close friends with Simisage, and has saved his life on one occasion. Despite her outward appearance of being petite and somewhat demure, underneath, she is strong in soul and will fight back if she has to. 

Dewott - Buizel’s arranged fiancé. He is part of a highly-respected family among Water Types, and the eighth in a long line of warriors. Unlike Buizel, he remembers their arranged marriage. Unfortunately, as time went on, his personality changed drastically, and he becomes jealous of Simisage.

Simisage - An elemental monkey who had to raise himself since childhood. As such, he became accustomed to living in solitude, but eventually became friends with Buizel. He finds her inner hidden strength admirable, but at the same time, feels a need to protect her as well. Normally, he’s brash and has a wild temper, but around Buizel, he’s calm.

Buizel’s Brothers (Zetes, Zabi, Zahir, Ziya) - Zetes, Zabi, and Zahir are Buizel’s older Floatzel brothers, and all very rowdy, loud, and protective of their sister. All three of them are prejudiced against Grass Types and have a strong dislike of Simisage. Ziya is Buizel’s younger brother and is unevolved. Somehow, he is more level-headed than the older brothers and is more willing to listen to reason. 

Buizel’s Parents - Two old Floatzels and Buizel’s parents. Buizel’s father is a man of few words and at first is apprehensive about Simisage, but sees no reason to hate him. Buizel’s mother is the one responsible for Buizel’s arranged marriage, and takes no nonsense from her older sons. 

Chatot - A messenger bird hired by Dewott’s family. 

(The reason Buizel’s brothers are addressed by their names but Buizel herself is not is because it’s easier to tell them all apart as a result.)


	2. Dewott's Arrival

(14 YEARS AGO)  
“Your daughter seems to be getting along very well with the 8th warrior,” the old Samurott commented, watching the very young Buizel play with Oshawott.   
“That she does,” her mother replied. “I can’t believe how polite your son is. Buizel tripped over her feet running too fast and Oshawott stopped to help her back up.”  
“Perhaps…” The Samurott began contemplating something. “Perhaps she can assist us in creating the next generation. There would be a species hiccup, but surely we can make do. I would like to request a union between the two of them in fourteen years time.”  
“A-a union!?” The female Floatzel gasped with shock. “Are you sure? Your family is one of the most respected amongst Water Types… is it really a good idea?”  
“Marrying into a family such as ours would make her well-respected as well. It will be for a good cause.”  
She sighed. “…Well… very well, then. Your eighth son may be united with my daughter.”  
“It is done.”

 

(PRESENT DAY)  
“Hey, Buizel?” Simisage asked. “I know you live here by yourself, but… have you got family of your own?”  
“I do actually,” Buizel answered. “Aside from a mother and father, I also have four brothers. Three older, one younger.”   
Simisage grimaced at the thought. “That sounds… annoying.”   
It was a rather warm summer day. Berries were at their ripest, and green Deerling were starting to pass through. Berry bushes were often fought over as members of the Simisear colony would claim all the sweeter, juicier ones. The Simipour colonies were starting to occupy the rivers during the hottest hours of the day to cool off, soaking up the water and bringing the Panpour young along to swim.   
“My older brothers had appetites on par with a Snorlax and were so, so rowdy,” Buizel said with a laugh. “But I still love them. …What about you?”  
Simisage heaved a sigh. “Well, to tell you the truth, not really. I’ve had to fend for myself since I was a Pansage for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t easy, but… I dealt it. I had to scrap and fight a lot.”  
Buizel looked up at him. “Aww… I’m sorry to hear that.”  
“For a while I thought I wouldn’t need anybody as a result, or even feel a need to make friends.” He looked down, then scratched Buizel’s head. “But I’m glad I made at least one.”   
Buizel giggled, then tilted her head upwards. “…Hey, there’s a Chatot…”  
“What are Chatots doing all the way over here?” Simisage wondered, then watched as it landed right in front of them.   
“Are you the Buizel originally from Route 14?” the Chatot asked them.  
“Yes, why?” she asked.  
“You have visitors.”  
“Eh? Visitors…?” Buizel looked down the river and noticed there was quite a bit of splashing and shouting a few yards down. The Simipour began evacuating the river, startled by the loud noises.   
“I’m winning!”   
“No, I am!”  
“The river’s too narrow!”  
Buizel cringed. “Oh no…”  
Finally, a trio of Floatzels surfaced, jumping out of the river. “Yes! I won!” the tallest one boasted.  
“You only won because the river got narrow in the middle!” A second one with a broken right fin shot back, then looked over at Buizel. “I found her!”   
“Oh, great!” A third Floatzel approached them. “We’ve been—” They trailed off as they noticed Simisage and their eyes slowly got wide.  
“GRASS TYPE!!!” One of the Floatzels whisked Buizel away, while the other two cornered Simisage. “Buizel! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?! What was he doing?!”  
“Calm down!” Buizel protested. “He’s my friend!”  
“Yeah, right!” The other Floatzels pressed Simisage against a tree, one of them readying to hit him with his fin.   
“Hey! Buizel, who are these punks?!” Simisage shouted, trying to push the fin away from his neck.  
“They’re… my brothers…” Buizel groaned.   
“That is quite enough from you boys!” A booming female voice rang out, and the Floatzels quickly backed off. Two more much larger Floatzels slowly walked in, followed by a smaller Buizel and another figure behind them. “I will not have you misbehaving during our visit!”  
“Mom! Dad!” Buizel exclaimed and ran up to them. “It’s been so long!”  
Buizel’s father looked up at Simisage, who was still looking rather rattled after her brothers’ attack. “Who is that?”  
“I don’t know and I don’t want to know,” one of her brothers snorted before being shushed by their mother.  
“This is Simisage; he’s a very good friend of mine,” Buizel explained. “He’s a loner in the elemental monkey colonies.”   
“I see. …Boys, come here.” The four brothers shuffled into place and their father motioned to each one of them. First, he pointed to the tallest one. “This is Zetes, Buizel’s oldest brother.” He motioned to the one with the broken fin. “This is Zabi, the second oldest.” He motioned to the third Floatzel. “This is Zahir, the third oldest.” Finally, he motioned to the smaller Buizel. “This is Ziya, the youngest.”   
“Hi!” Ziya walked up to Simisage. “You’re my sister’s friend?”   
“Y-yeah,” Simisage replied.  
“Is it true Pokemon eat off your head if they need to pu—”  
“Ziya, don’t talk to the mean Grass Type,” Zabi pulled him away.   
Buizel made a face at him, then turned back to her parents. “What brings you here?”   
“Well, it’s been 14 years,” her mother replied. “And we decided to all come here for your special day.”   
“Special… day?” Buizel tilted her head.  
“Yes. Your union to the eighth warrior, and your induction into the highest-ranking family among Water Types.” She stepped aside to reveal the Pokemon that they brought along: a Dewott.   
Dewott proudly walked forward and smiled at Buizel. “Hello… remember me?”   
Buizel grimaced. “…No, I don’t…”  
“What a shame. You should. After all, I’m your fiancé.”   
Buizel’s eyes widened, while Simisage’s stomach dropped.

 

“Buizel… why didn’t you tell me you had a fiancé?” Simisage asked her later that day.   
“Because I don’t remember him at all… or the union arrangement,” Buizel replied. “But from what my mother told me, he’s quite a gentleman.”   
“Well, he better be. He walks like a stuffed Unfezant. Being lauded as the son of a high-ranking family must’ve built up his ego quite a bit.”   
Buizel laughed at his remark, then sighed. “It’s been 14 years though… what if he’s changed? Time can do that.”   
“They must teach respect in that warrior family. You gotta give respect if you want it in return.” He reached over to stroke Buizel’s head. “Well… even when you’re married into a high-ranking family… don’t forget about me, okay?”  
Buizel sadly nuzzled up into his hand. “I won’t. I promise.” She could see her brothers out of the corner of her eye as they glared at them.   
“You mad, monkey boy?” Zabi said.   
“Well… I’m hurt,” Simisage responded.   
“He’s mad,” Zahir muttered aside to the other two.  
“Mad enough to whack her upside the head with your tail?” Zabi sneered.  
“What the— No! I would never—”  
“Shut up!!” Zetes snapped. “Now get lost and don’t you ever talk to our sister again! You’re second banana to a much more respectable man; deal with it! …Come on, Sis. It’s time to do some catching up with your fiancé.” He motioned to Dewott, standing nearby.  
Buizel frowned, then looked back at Simisage. “I’m sorry you had to hear that… my brother’s rather protective of me.” She leaned up to whisper. “I’ll be back soon.”  
“Good luck,” Simisage responded.


	3. Meeting Again After 14 Years

“…I can’t believe it’s been fourteen years… what have you been doing since then?” Buizel asked Dewott.   
“Training,” Dewott replied. “I’m beating my younger brothers… nephews… cousins… I want to become the strongest in the family.”   
“That’s nice,” Buizel responded.   
“…that’s it?”  
“Huh?”  
“That all you got to say to me about that?” He sneered and raised an eyebrow. “Just a ‘that’s nice’?”  
“I mean… well…” Buizel looked awkward. “Wonderful…?”  
“That’s better.” Dewott nodded. “You should consider yourself very lucky you're marrying into a family with such high honor. Imagine the amount of respect you'll get. I can't imagine you'll get a lot of respect being known as that girl who shacked up with a thorn monkey.”  
Buizel’s face twitched. “P-please don’t talk about my friend like that. He may be a ‘thorn monkey’ but he’s very nice.”   
Dewott let out a laugh. “Hahaha… oh, Buizel. Simisages aren’t nice. Have you seen their tempers? That tail isn’t for decoration, you know.”   
“Dewott, please. I know he’s rather brash but he’s—” Buizel’s eyes widened when he sharply cut her off.   
“Who would you rather believe? Him, who’s probably lying about his personality to make you like him, or me, who would put your safety and well-being above anyone else’s?” Dewott smirked as Buizel’s eyes shifted left to right, unable to give an answer. “That’s what I thought.”  
Buizel’s grimaced. The vision of the young gentleman she had of him when they were children was starting to crumble. “You’ve… become different,” she mumbled.   
“I’m sorry, Buizel,” Dewott said. “But I really do want to look out for you. You never know when his temper gets the best of him and next thing you know, you’re picking thorns out of your head.”

“So, how did it go?” Zetes asked Dewott as he came back.   
“Splendidly; she’s excited,” Dewott responded. “She said it was wonderful I’m the strongest amongst the others in my family.”  
“Sis is gonna make so many girls jealous,” Zabi laughed. “Wishing they could be united with someone so awesome. I bet she’s feeling real good after getting to see you again!”  
“I think it’s going to be in her best interests to be wed into my family.” Dewott polished his scalchop as he spoke. “She’ll earn more respect than she ever would staying with that ruffian of a thorn monkey… as in, none.”  
“Eh, really? None?” Zahir scratched his head. “I mean, I can probably see other Pokemon making jokes about it. But no respect at all? That’s—”  
“You want your sister to be respected, don’t you?” Dewott cut him off.   
“Of course!”  
“Then you’re going to have to learn to trust me.”

“He’s definitely changed…” Buizel sulked. “And not for the better at all. He’s not the boy from my childhood anymore.”   
“I knew it.” Simisage took a bite out of an Oran Berry, lounging in his favorite tree. “Want one?”  
“Yes, please.” Buizel reached up as Simisage dropped an Oran Berry in her direction. “…What should I do? This union might be a bad idea; I don’t want to spend my life with someone I won’t like.”  
“Tell your brothers? Your parents?”   
“He charmed them as easily as a Lopunny in Spring. As far as they’re concerned, there’s no way he’d behave badly, and write it off as me being too nervous.”  
“That’s ridiculous.” Simisage jumped down from the tree. “Your feelings matter too. What are they going to do when they realize it’s a poor choice?”  
“I never thought I’d say this about my own family…” Buizel took a deep breath. “But… they’d look like fools.”  
“What, are they expecting you to be the only one to bring children into the family or something?” Simisage shrugged. “You’ve got three brothers old enough for that.”  
“I hope not. …Don’t worry about me, Simisage. I’ll think of something.”   
“…you realize that I’ll end up worrying about you anyway, right?” Simisage petted her head, then noticed she was looking somewhere else.  
“Oh, my parents…” Buizel smiled slightly, and Simisage quickly withdrew his hand.   
“Come along,” her father said. “It’s time to discuss arrangements.”   
“Dad… there’s something I should…” Buizel began, then looked over at Simisage. “I’m—”  
“I know you’re in the middle of something, but this is important.” her mother cut her off. “It shouldn’t take too long. Chatot is delivering a message from Dewott’s family.”   
“Go ahead, I’ll wait.” Simisage smiled reassuringly at her. “Be brave.”   
As her mother led her off, Buizel’s father took a few moments to look at Simisage. “What does my daughter see in you?” he finally said.   
“Uh…” Simisage shrunk back. Normally the Floatzel species was closer to his height, but both her parents looked over five feet tall. “I don’t know, really. She just kinda likes me.”  
Her father let out a ‘hmmph’ noise. “Very well then,” he said, then shuffled off, following the other two. 

“Dewott’s entire family is coming here for the union?” Buizel exclaimed.   
“That’s right,” her mother replied. “In one week. You can use that time to get to know your fiancé in the meantime.”  
“What if something goes wrong?! He’s not the boy I remember growing up!”   
“Of course he’s not. He’s older,” Zetes replied, then laughed at his own joke.  
“That’s not funny!” Buizel shot back. “…Mom, Dad, he’s really not the boy I remember from my childhood. Something’s really off. He got angry at me when I didn’t praise him.”  
“Yeah, it’s a crime to insult that family,” Zabi laughed.  
“Stop!!” Buizel yelled.   
“Boys!” Their father shouted. “Stop teasing. Leave her be.”  
“Are you nervous?” Buizel’s mother asked.  
“Yes. Very nervous,” she replied. “This union isn’t a good idea. What if Dewott isn’t a good husband? I know little to nothing about him now.”   
“Of course he will be,” her mother tried to reassure her. “Remember? He’s from a very respected family who will take care of you and raise your son to be the best he can be.”  
“I know but—” Buizel paused. “Wait. ‘Son’…?”  
“He mentioned something about ‘praying that Arceus will bless a healthy baby boy unto his family’.”  
“That boy’s got a way with words,” her father said, while Buizel could only make a puzzled face.   
“What does that have to do with how he’ll be a good husband?!”  
“Buizel, just… use the time between now and the union to calm your nerves.” Her mother patted her shoulder. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”  
Buizel just frowned and walked away. ‘I have to make them realize this union is a bad idea,’ she thought to herself. ‘I just have to…!’


	4. Dewott's Unexpected and Unpleasant Change

As Simisage prepared to visit Buizel again, he became aware of someone behind him and turned around… “Dewott?”  
“Hello, thorn monkey. Tell me, why are you so friendly towards my fiancée?” Dewott asked. “Have you forgotten why I’m here?”  
“Look, there’s nothing wrong with being friends,” Simisage replied. “Don’t get jealous.”  
“I seem to recall she said you were a loner. As in… didn’t need any friends?” Dewott pressed. “So why is she so important to you?”  
“Hey, you’re making this awkward. She and I are friends. You’re making a mountain out of a Diglett hill.”  
Dewott plucked a leaf from a nearby bush. “As you know… I’ve been training to become the strongest out of the others in this generation of my family. I aim to be the swiftest; the most difficult to defeat. I want to be able to defeat even…” He tossed the leaf in the air, then swung his scalchop at it several times. “Grass Types.”  
Simisage watched as the pieces of shredded leaf floated to the ground. “You threatening me or something?”  
Dewott simply glared at him, then walked away. It was at that moment that Simisage became thankful Dewott couldn’t climb trees.

“I think your fiancé just threatened my life,” Simisage told Buizel later.   
“W-what?!” Buizel looked horrified. “Why did he do that? What did he do?”  
“He chopped up a leaf with his shell thingy, telling me he wants to get strong enough to beat Grass Types.”   
“‘Shell thingy’!? That’s his scalchop, uncultured Swinub! And didn’t we tell you to stay away from our sister?!”   
Simisage rolled his eyes as he turned to face her brothers. “I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told Dewott: There’s nothing wrong with being friends.”  
“We know about your species’ temper. We know Grass Types are dangerous.” Zabi scowled at him, then held up his fin. “Now get lost or it’s your neck.”  
“You’re not making a very good threat if you’re holding up the fin that’s broken,” Simisage pointed out, then smirked slightly as Zabi floundered a bit.  
“Hey, shut up! Maybe it has sharp edges that’ll hurt more!”  
“How did that happen anyway?” Buizel asked. “I don’t remember you having that.”  
“A Maractus attacked me!” Zabi replied. “For no reason!”  
“No, you went all tough-guy on it because it ate some berries you wanted and it swung at you,” Ziya said. “Then when it broke your fin you took off running! And that was three seasons ago!”  
“…you mouthy little brat…” Zabi grumbled while Simisage laughed.   
“Wait, aren’t Maractuses like a head shorter than you? Wow, a big strong Floatzel running like a Lillipup with his tail between his legs! That’s hilarious!”  
“That’s it; you’ve gone too far!” Zetes shouted. “Now get lost!”  
“I think you’re rooting for the wrong team; Dewott basically threatened to kill me.” Simisage said.   
“And that’s a problem… why, exactly?” Zahir muttered.   
“No-o-o-o-o!” Ziya turned to face him. “Don’t say that!”  
“You’re eight years old,” Zahir said. “You’re too young to understand.”  
“No I’m not.” Ziya crossed his arms in a huff. “Telling me I’m too young all the time… stupid…”  
“He’s right,” Buizel said. “He’s old enough to understand it’s wrong to wish death on somebody you don’t like, especially based on what type and species they are.”  
“Besides, I never threatened his life.” Dewott appeared behind the brothers.   
“Wait, what?” Zabi asked. “You didn’t?”  
“Why would I do that?” Dewott stared directly at Simisage. “Why would you lie to them? Why would you lie to her?”  
“I did not!” Simisage shot back. “You were right in front of me trying to make a point about how you wanted to be able to defeat Grass—”  
“My intuition was correct; you are lying to my fianceé to make yourself look good.”   
“I am not!!”  
“Buizel, who do you believe?”  
Buizel stared blankly, her paws shaking. “I…” She simply hung her head, a tear rolling down her face.  
The brothers exchanged glances with each other. “Holy Arceus; what sort of question was that?” Zabi muttered. “It’s a lose-lose situation.”  
“Don’t answer that, Sis!” Ziya called out.  
“I’m sorry…!” Buizel ran away, overwhelmed.  
“Buizel—!” Simisage went to chase her, but Zetes held up a paw.   
“No, don’t, just… don’t. Let it be. …Guys, let’s just go. This is too awkward.”  
As the brothers shuffled away, Simisage glared at Dewott and stiffened his tail. “You’re the one who lied. I hope her family learns the truth about you.”  
“If you so much as whisper one word, I really will kill you,” Dewott snarled, baring his teeth. “And dead Pokemon don’t talk.”  
“You did it again! You training to be an assassin or something?!”  
“No, but I have a cousin who is. He’s been dubbed the ‘Teal Terror’. And if you cross my path again, he might pay a little visit.”  
“…And again.”

“Geez, what was that?!” Zahir groaned loudly, flopping backwards. The four brothers had retreated to the river, trying to distance themselves from the situation. “Why would he ask something that’d make Sis so uncomfortable?!”  
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Zetes grumbled, slumping over so only his eyes were above the water.  
“Yeah, well, I do,” Zabi said. “That was really weird. I’ve seen Gigaliths with more emotion in their faces than Dewott had back there.”  
“I don’t think I like him very much,” Ziya added. “He’s mean.”  
“Well… I’d be a little ‘mean’ too if I found out some random Pokemon— much less a Grass Type— was muscling in on my fiancée.” Zahir said.   
“Not ‘angry’ mean… ‘bad’ mean. Why would he force her to pick a side?”  
“W-well…” Zetes grimaced, then rolled his eyes. “Oh, who are we kidding. That really was bad. I mean, I don’t know if that life-threatening claim was true. But would any of you ask a female you were going to be united with— and supposedly loved— a lose-lose question like that?”  
The brothers thought for a while, then all shook their heads. “Something’s not quite right here,” Zahir muttered. “14 years separated… Something changed about Dewott, and we should find out what.”


	5. The Stress of an Arranged Marriage

Simisage snuck through the bushes to find Buizel’s nest. He found her curled into a ball, sniffling slightly. “Buizel…?”  
“He wouldn’t even comfort me,” she said in an almost whisper.   
“What?”  
“Dewott saw me crying, but he didn’t comfort me!” Buizel slowly stood up. “He just told me to stop crying and tell him the truth about who I believed.”   
“What did you say?”  
“I told him I believed him just to make him go away… but…” Tears began streaming down her face. “It was a lie! I was too scared to tell the truth… I’m so sorry!”  
“If you’re afraid of telling the truth due to how he’ll react, something’s not right,” Simisage said. “And after meeting him, I can see why you would.” He heard some rustling and quickly jumped into the nearest tree, hoping it wasn’t Dewott again.  
“Hey, Sis?” Zahir walked up to her. “Are you okay?”  
“No, I’m not,” Buizel replied, her head pointing downwards. “Dewott won’t comfort me and instead forced me to tell the truth about who I believed.”  
“What…?” Zahir’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”  
“There’s something wrong with him! But my parents won’t believe or listen!”   
“I think his ego has been stroked so much by that family he feels entitled to everything,” Zahir said. “That’s the only explanation I can think of as to why he acts so full of himself.”   
“But to force me to answer a question where no matter what I answer, someone would get hurt?!” Tears began rolling down her face again. “How is that okay?”  
Zahir felt a lump form in his throat. “You know… he thinks you’ll lose the respect of every Pokemon in Pinwheel Forest if you pick that monkey over him.”   
“W-what?!”   
“Yeah. Don’t tell him I said any of this.” Zahir lowered his voice and leaned down closer. “He claims you’ll be well-respected if you settle down with him. But I think him saying you’ll lose the respect of every Pokemon here if you don’t… is pushing it.” He heard Buizel exhale with shock, then stood back up straight. “That’s the truth.”  
“I don’t care about how much respect I get,” Buizel whispered. “I just want to be… with a Pokemon I love.”  
Simisage’s eyes widened, wondering if she was referring to him.  
“Oh please. I hope you haven’t actually fallen for him.” Zahir rolled his eyes. “You can do better than that thorn monkey; I know you can.”  
“What if I have? I would choose him over Dewott.”  
“I don’t think it’s your choice. This union was decided 14 years ago.”   
“It should be! I refuse to settle down with a Pokemon who, rather than would comfort me in my time of need, would coldly interrogate me! Are you going to turn a blind eye to that?!”   
Zahir’s eyes shifted back and forth, taken aback by Buizel’s armor-piercing question. He stammered a couple times and fidgeted around, before letting out a small “No.”  
“Now do you see that there’s something wrong with him? He’s not just some egotistical brat. Our youngest brother can tell something’s wrong with him, and he’s just a child.”  
“But that’s exactly it; he’s just a chi—” Zahir was cut off when Buizel gripped his arms.  
“Please, listen to me, Zahir. Don’t dismiss Ziya because he’s still very young. It doesn’t look very good when the youngest brother is smarter than his oldest ones. Please.”  
“Okay, okay!” Zahir wriggled one of his arms free, then patted Buizel’s head. “We’ll figure something out, okay? And it’ll be good.”

“Alright boys, we’ve gotta talk to Dewott.” Zahir walked back over to the other brothers. “We’ve gotta teach him how to be a gentleman.”  
“How so?” Zetes asked.  
“He’d rather interrogate our sister about the truth and stuff rather than comfort her when she cries. And we can’t have that.”  
“I knew he was mean!” Ziya shouted.   
“He’s actually right about this,” Zabi said. “If he won’t comfort her after he’s the one who makes her cry, that’s unacceptable!”   
“She said something about how she wants to be able to choose another Pokemon to marry,” Zahir added. “In case Dewott can’t be an acceptable husband.”  
“Well good luck telling that to Mom,” Zetes said. “She’s the one responsible for this whole thing and she expects our sister to get used to him in a week.”  
“Yeah, that’s totally enough time,” Zabi muttered sarcastically.   
“Well… let’s go find him.” Zahir motioned for the others to follow him. “He needs a talking to.”

“Dewott!” Zabi called out as he saw him by the river. “We need to talk!”  
“Oh?” Dewott turned to them. “You all look so angry, what’s the matter?”  
“You made our sister cry!” Ziya said. “And you didn’t comfort her!”  
“Ah—” Dewott made a show of being flustered. “I’m sorry. I was just… when she didn’t tell me who she believed, I just… I panicked. You understand, don’t you? You would too, if your fiancée could potentially lie.”  
“Panicked? Really?” Zahir cocked an eyebrow. “Well why don’t you go find her, and apologize?”  
“Very well.” Dewott stood up. “I just don’t understand why you act like you don’t trust me either.”  
“Duh!!” Zetes stepped in front of him. “You don’t make your fiancée cry and then interrogate her further, stressing her out! That’s not right!”  
“You’re right, it’s not. I just… I lost control. Excuse me.” Dewott moved past him, then noticed that the four brothers began trailing behind him. “…Stop following me everywhere I go.”  
“We just want to make sure you’re going to actually do it.” Zabi said. “Something wrong with that?”  
“Why don’t you trust me?! I care about Buizel just as much as you do! Perhaps even more!” At that, the brothers suddenly burst out laughing.   
“You realize you’re saying that to her brothers?!” Zahir laughed. “You claim to care about her more than us?! Don’t even try that! We’ve known her all her life! …Well, three out of four of us,” he added, his eyes shifting over to Ziya.   
“Yes, yes, familial bonds are the strongest. Now will you let me go apologize?!” Dewott began getting annoyed.   
“You have to mean it. I mean absolutely mean it,” Zetes said. “And I also mean it when I say we have to watch you do it.”  
Dewott grumbled. “…Fine.”

When the group arrived at Buizel’s nest, they noticed it was empty.   
“Huh.” Zahir tilted her head. “She probably went for a swim or something.”  
Dewott began visibly trembling. “That thorn monkey kidnapped her…!”  
“Hey! Relax!” Zabi tapped his shoulder. “She can’t have gone far.”  
Zetes went to scan the river, despite it being full of Simipours and Panpours. Sure enough, he spotted Buizel’s head, right in the middle. “Found her. She’s the only orange thing in there.”  
Dewott took a deep breath, then ran towards the river. “Buizel! Buizel, please! Listen!” He jumped in and swam towards her, causing the Simipours to swim away.   
“Dewott…?” Buizel turned to look at him.  
Dewott threw his arms around her, taking her by surprise. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”   
Buizel simply blinked, not even bothering to return the hug. “Why didn’t you comfort me when I was crying?”   
“Look, I just… I panicked. I lost control; I was just worried of what that thorn monkey would do to you if you said—”  
“Please, at least address him properly. ‘Simisage’.” Buizel said.   
“Alright, fine. Simisage. Just… come on. Let’s go home. We can talk more together.” Dewott tugged on her arm, but Buizel resisted.   
“No. I need space to clear my head.”  
Dewott’s eyes widened. “Buizel, we’re to get united in less than a week. Come out of the river and we can talk together.”  
“I said, no! Not now!” Buizel turned her back on him.  
Dewott gritted his teeth and tensed up. “Buizel… hey… nobody says ‘no’ to—” Before he could finish, the group of Simipours suddenly barriered themselves together around her, looking menacing. “Get out of my way! I am the eighth warrior chosen by the highest members of the Samurott shinobis and I deserve more respect than—”  
“No one cares!” One of the Simipours got directly in front of him. “She said no. And I don’t care if you’ve trained with the Swords of Justice themselves; no means no.” He emphasized his last statement by angrily poking Dewott’s chest. “Get. Lost.”  
Dewott backed away, then finally turned around to leave the river. As he climbed out, he was shaking from anger. “What are you staring at?!!” he yelled as he noticed that Buizel’s brothers had seen everything.  
“For a second there I thought we’d get to see if your training would pay off in regards to strength in numbers,” Zahir said casually, prompting the other boys to snicker.  
“Shut up!! I’ve been humiliated enough!”  
“If you call getting boxed out when you try to force our sister to do something she doesn’t want to do ‘humiliating’, that’s a problem,” Zetes said. “If she doesn’t wanna talk, then don’t talk. Just let it be.”  
“If you really loved our sister, you’d respect right back.” Ziya said.  
“I am in no mood whatsoever to argue with a bunch of knuckleheads with more rocks in their heads than a Graveler.” Dewott shook the water off himself, then stormed off.   
The older brothers stared after him in confusion, while Ziya looked at the river. He could see Buizel and the Simipours conversing amongst each other.  
“Thank you… I can’t thank you enough…” Buizel was overwhelmed with relief.  
“Hey, you look stressed,” one of the Simipours said. “What’s his problem?”  
“The more and more time I spend around him, the less and less I want to be united with him…” Buizel replied.   
“What? United? To someone like that? He looks crazy!” Another Simipour chimed in.  
“I don’t even love him back; it’s been too long. There’s someone else I… I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but thank you for helping me.”  
“Hey, no problem. We’ll make sure it’s safe for you to get out when you need to.”


	6. Dewott's Deceit

“Hey guys, I know I’m the last Pokemon you want to talk to, but can you tell me where Buizel is? I’ve been running all over Pinwheel Forest looking for her.”  
Buizel’s older brothers turned around and rolled their eyes in unison as they saw Simisage. “Well, you’re right about one thing: you are the last Pokemon we want to talk to.” Zetes replied. “We don’t really want to deal with drama back to b—”  
“She’s in there,” Ziya immediately butted in, pointing to the river.  
Zahir clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Thanks a lot, littlest brother with the biggest mouth.”  
“You can’t reach her anyway; there’s an impenetrable wall of Simipours around her,” Zabi said.  
“That always happens when it’s hot outside,” Simisage replied. “Sucks to be a Pokemon who just wants a dip in the water and then practically the entire Simipour and Panpour population in the forest jumps in once the sun gets high. They won’t get out for hours.”  
“They’re doing it on purpose,” Ziya said. “Sis was in there already, but then Dewott jumped in and tried to make her come out but she didn’t want to. Now they’re making sure he doesn’t come back.”  
“He tried what?!” Simisage walked to the edge of the river. “Buizel? Are you okay?”  
“Simisage!?” Buizel tried to peer through the horde of Simipours. “Is that you?”  
“Wait a minute. How do we know you’re not a scout for that weirdo Dewott?” one of the Simipours asked.  
“Look, calling Dewott a ‘weirdo’ is a compliment,” Simisage said. “And I’m Buizel’s closest friend.”  
“I dunno…” The Simipour scratched his head. “Are you sure—” He was cut off when Buizel jumped over his head and swam over to Simisage as fast as she could.   
“I’m so happy to see you! I was hoping I’d see you again!” Buizel was almost crying, and immediately buried her head in his shoulder as he scooped her out of the river.  
“I’ll take it from here, buddy.” Simisage waved at the Simipour with his free hand, then jumped into a tree, taking Buizel with him. As he climbed higher, he made a makeshift harness out of some small vines.  
“Well then…” Simipour looked confused, then turned to the others. “She’s in good hands, guys. We’re good.”  
“Hey! Hey! HEY!!” Zetes ran over to the tree Simisage had just climbed up and started shaking the trunk. “Bring our sister back down here! Now!!”  
“Don’t worry,” Buizel called back down. “Simisage won’t let me fall.”  
“That’s the least of our worries! Put her back in the water; the Simipours were doing a great job of keeping her safe!”  
Ziya tugged at Zetes’ fin. “Dewott can swim. Dewott can’t climb trees. Dewott can’t get her if she’s all the way up there.”  
“Look, I know Dewott needs a lot of work, but I really, really don’t think he’s as bad as you’re making him sound,” Zetes groaned.   
“Guys, I’m really going to be okay,” Buizel said. “And listen to our youngest brother, please. If he senses something wrong about Dewott, don’t brush him off.”  
“He’s still a little kid! He can’t even use Water Gun yet, for Arceus’ sake!” Zahir argued. At this, Ziya scrunched up his face and ran off into the forest.  
“Oh, leave the kid alone, will ya?” Simisage called down. “Relax! I’m not gonna keep her up here forever!”  
“That’s not our concern!” Zabi banged his front paws against the trunk. “You can’t just pluck her out of the water then take her all the way up a tree!”  
“You know, I can see a lot of Pinwheel Forest from up here,” Simisage went on. “There’s the cluster of bushes where the Simisear colony hangs out… there’s the path intended for humans… there’s your little brother stomping away because you guys won’t pay attention to him…”  
“What?! Where?” Zetes looked frantically around for Ziya.   
“I think I see him! He’s heading east!” Zabi pointed. “Come on!”  
“What about our sister?”  
“I think Ziya’s a little bit more important right now! We’ll get back to her later! Hurry!”

The brothers finally caught up to Ziya, who was sulking on a tree trunk.   
“What were you thinking?!” Zahir scolded, panting. “We had to cross the human path to catch up to you! What if someone saw you and tried to challenge you? You’re still practically a baby!”  
“I ran away because I wanted you to leave them alone!” Ziya pouted. “Sis’s friend wasn’t bad for taking her into a tree! I told you! Dewott can swim but he can’t climb trees! And he’s still mean!”   
“He probably sees that thorn monkey as competition,” Zetes said.   
“But he’s not competition! He’s just her friend!” Ziya replied.   
“Let’s hope that’s all he is,” Zabi muttered.

As the moon got higher, Simisage realized that he’d fallen asleep and stirred. Buizel had fallen asleep on him and looked rather peaceful. He didn’t want to wake her up, but he descended from the tree anyway, keeping a tight hold on her. “I think it’s okay. Let’s get you back in your nest,” he whispered. “I’ll find somewhere I can keep an eye on you.”   
As he was about to put her back, he heard voices approaching. His eyes widened as he realized it was Dewott yet again, and hid in the closest thick clump of bushes he could find. As he watched, he noticed that he’d brought her parents with him as well.  
“She’s still not here! She’s gone missing!” Dewott sounded panicked.  
“Are you absolutely sure she’s missing?” Buizel’s father asked. “What if she’s just sleeping somewhere else?”  
“Then we have to search every inch of Pinwheel Forest.” Dewott said. “She could have been captured, or worse, kidnapped! You know how much trouble that thorn monkey is!”  
“What on earth does that rogue Simisage have to do with any of this…?” Buizel’s father muttered sleepily. “Our daughter shows no animosity towards him and he does not pose a threat to her.”  
“She can’t keep letting her nerves get the better of her,” Buizel’s mother said.  
Dewott began gasping as if he was about to cry. “I don’t want to lose my fiancée. I really don’t want to…” He broke into sobs.  
“Calm yourself.” Buizel’s mother patted his shoulders. “Relax, then go find her.”  
“Yes… thank you.” Dewott sniffled as the two Floatzels went back to go back to sleep. Once they disappeared into the forest, something surprising happened…  
Dewott immediately stopped crying, then seemed to almost smirk. Simisage’s eyes widened… he had been pretending to cry. At that moment, he held Buizel protectively close, thanking Arceus he hadn’t put her back in her nest.


	7. Dewott Lies, Buizel Cries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: MISOGYNY.   
> From this chapter forward, the story will get very discomforting and possibly triggering. This chapter contains graphic descriptions of a society that is oppressive towards women. If this makes you uncomfortable, please either proceed with caution or skip this chapter entirely.

The next morning, Buizel woke up, a little confused that she’d woken up in the bushes. She looked over and saw Simisage next to her, still asleep. She poked him and he suddenly jumped awake.   
“Aah! Buizel!? Where are y— hmm?” He looked over at her. “Oh, there you are.”  
“Why are we in the bushes? Did something happen?” Buizel asked.  
Simisage grimaced, but decided to tell the truth anyway. “I was going to put you back, and then… well, Dewott was looking for you. He’d brought your parents to your nest and everything.”  
“What?!” Buizel gasped. “Why would he wake up my parents so late?”  
“Not just that. But he pretended to cry to butter them up. Your old man was pretty mellow but your mom’s still dead set on this union.” He sighed as he saw Buizel lower her head. “I know that’s the absolute last thing you want to hear first thing in the morning. …Hey.”  
“What?”  
Simisage lowered his voice to a whisper. “If your parents or Dewott ask you why you weren’t in your nest last night, tell them you wanted to sleep somewhere quiet.”  
“I will. Thank you, Simisage.”

“Well look who it is! Good morning!” Zetes waved as Buizel approached her brothers, who were joined by Dewott. “Man, Dewott would not shut up about how he couldn’t find you last night.”  
“Oh, that, I was just sleeping somewhere more quiet.” Buizel said, without missing a beat.   
“Quiet?” Dewott cut in. “When I came up to your nest, the entire forest was silent. Not a single Tympole rippling nor a Yanma buzzing. …You shouldn’t hide secrets from your fiancé, Buizel.” He stood up. “There is to be no secrets between us, do you understand?! None! Now tell me the truth as to why you didn’t sleep in your nest.”  
“Hey!!” Zahir jumped up as well when he noticed Buizel flinch. “Just because it was quiet inside Pinwheel Forest doesn’t mean there’s no noise period! It’s not dead silence! Buizel, where exactly where you sleeping?”  
“In a clump of bushes,” Buizel replied.   
“See?” Zetes looked over at Dewott. “Now will you sit down and get back to what we were talking about, please?”   
“I’m sorry.” Dewott sat back down. “I get a… a little tense when I’m worried.”  
“Uh-huh. ‘Little’ tense. If you were a Psyduck, half the forest would be eradicated from the blast of psychic energy.” Zabi muttered. “Could you start from the top now that our sister’s here?”  
“Ah, yes, we were discussing our son.” Dewott smiled.   
“Son…?” Buizel looked apprehensive.  
“Yes. Can you imagine it? Our son could be the 9th warrior!”   
“I imagine he might have a bit of a hard time fitting in,” Zetes said. “Oshawott, Oshawott, Oshawott, Oshawott, Oshawott… and Buizel.”  
“Wait a minute.” Buizel said. “What if he doesn’t want to be a warrior? What if I have a daughter? There’s so many other things to consider. Or, most importantly of all, what if I don’t want to have a child right away?”  
“In time, Buizel,” Dewott simply replied. “We can discuss this more after our union.”  
“Why then? Why not now? Is it because my brothers are here?”  
“Yes. These are private matters.”  
“Well, that’s too bad, because you have to be willing to discuss these things in front of my family.” Buizel frowned at him.   
“I told you, it can be discussed after the union,” Dewott simply repeated. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk back like that.”  
“Hmmph! …Can I take a few moments?” Buizel turned to her brothers.  
“Yes you may,” Zetes said, without giving a moment for Dewott to respond.   
As Buizel walked away, Dewott’s face scrunched up in anger. “What do you think you’re doing…?!”  
“Hah hah. Now you gotta tell us what you were gonna say.” Ziya taunted.  
Dewott snapped his head towards him, giving him a glare that caused all four brothers to shrink back, and Ziya to whimper with fear.  
“Whoa! Hey!” Zahir protectively put his arm around Ziya. “Easy!”  
“I have had quite enough of you four morons,” Dewott growled. “You want to know what I was gonna say so bad? Fine. But good luck getting Mother dear to believe you.”  
The brothers were suddenly taken aback by his sudden shift in demeanor. “What do you mean? What’s going on here?”

**WARNING: POSSIBLY TRIGGERING CONTENT AHEAD. PLEASE SKIP THIS PART IF THE SUBJECT OF A MISOGYNISTIC SOCIETY MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. OTHERWISE PLEASE CONTINUE WITH CAUTION.**

 

“I want Buizel to have a son so he can be trained to become the 9th warrior.”  
“You already said that.” Zahir said. “What if our sister has a daughter instead?”  
“Easy! She becomes the first girl warrior.” Ziya replied.  
“Females don’t become warriors,” Dewott said.  
“Why not?” Zabi asked. “There’s this organization that uses various Water Pokemon rescues humans lost at sea, and their best swimmer is a female Floatzel and she is fearless, fast, and… just amazing.” His face slowly turned into a lovestruck smile. “She’s so beautiful… but I don’t think she’d like me because my fin is broken. That’s not attractive—” He blinked as Zahir tapped him. “Where were we? Oh yeah. Girl warrior. What’s the problem?”  
“Females don’t become warriors because we already have a use for them.”  
“Alright then smarty pants, what is it?” Zetes said, rolling his eyes.  
“When a daughter is born, she is taken aside and not allowed to interact with the sons. When she is able to bear children, she is made to breed with male Pokemon of peak strength, so it can be ensured she gives birth to the best possible future warriors.”  
The brothers’ eyes widened in horror as what Dewott had just said sunk in. “Y-you… you can’t be serious,” Zetes said. “You’re seriously going to doom your daughter to a life of being impregnated over and over and over again?!”  
“And the boys…?” Ziya asked, his voice quivering.  
“At eight years of age, they begin their warrior training. It’s very rigorous. Our son will enter the training at the same time, and his fins will be used in place of scalchops.” Dewott continued.   
“Eight? Uh…” Zahir looked over at Ziya. “He’s eight too. And I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Buizel fins are really soft and bendy at that age.” He took Ziya’s arm and wiggled the fin a little bit. “See? Flimsy. Soft. Can’t land hits much less take them.”  
“Speaking of which; you see this?” Zabi held up his broken fin. “This wasn’t a childhood injury. This was recent. These are made for swimming. Not fighting.”  
“You’re going to cripple him! He won’t be able to swim!” Zetes shouted, appalled.   
“If a son is unfit to be a warrior, he gets cast out.”  
Zetes jumped to his feet. “Enough! I’ve heard enough!! Your family values are warped and disgusting! If our sister marries into your family, she’ll be living a nightmare! Highly respected, my ass!! The only reason they’re so respected is because of how disciplined they are! If they knew the truth, they’d take it all back!”  
“You’ll marry our sister over our dead bodies!” Zahir added. “If you loved her you’d make sure she had a good life in your family!”  
“Who said anything about love?” Dewott said coldly. “She’s not going to be a ‘wife’. She’s only going to be a mother. That’s the only reason I’m taking her in.”  
“You bastard…” Zabi growled. “Once we have a little meeting with our parents, this union is off.”  
“I already told you.” Dewott’s face twisted into a smirk. “They’ll never believe you. The four unruly sons who get on their mother’s last nerve… they trust me more than they trust you.”  
“You’re… you’re terrible…” Ziya sobbed. “Our sister won’t marry you!”  
“She doesn’t have a choice.” Dewott turned on his heel and walked away, quietly laughing to himself. “Cry all you want. This union will come to pass no matter what you say or do.”  
Zetes immediately turned to Zahir. “Find Buizel. Get her somewhere safe. NOW.” As Zahir scampered off as fast as he could, he looked down at Ziya. “Ziya… I— no; we are so, so sorry. We should have listened to you. You were right. Dewott is… horrible.”

Zahir came across Buizel washing her face in the river. “Buizel!!” He called out urgently. “Come with me! You have to come with me and hide. Now!”  
“W-what’s the matter?!” Buizel ran up to him. She’d never seen him so serious before. “What’s going on? What happened?”  
“I’ll explain once we get somewhere Dewott won’t find us!” Zahir took her arm and began running again. “Come on!!”

As the two of them reached a clump of trees that barely any Pokemon went into, Zahir turned to Buizel. “Okay… you’re not going to like any of this. But you have to get out of this union to Dewott.”  
“W-what… what did you find out?”  
“He doesn’t love you at all,” Zahir said solemnly. “He just sees you as someone who exists in his life to bear children. But that’s not all. Your sons will become crippled from attempting to battle using flimsy fins. Your daughters will be doomed to a life of breeding. If the children you give birth to are unfit to be warriors, they’ll be cast out of the family.” A lump formed in his throat as the light left Buizel’s eyes and she collapsed to the ground. “I’m so sorry.” he whispered.  
“Tell me that’s a lie… please…” Buizel struggled to speak. “There’s no way… he wouldn’t do that to me, would he…?”  
“He doesn’t care. The nightmare you would be living in would make Darkrai himself recoil with fear. That’s why you need to get out.”   
Buizel laid face-down on the grass and began crying with despair. “No… no…!!”  
Zahir knelt down next down to her and rubbed her back, tears streaming down his own face as well.

“Mom! Dad!” The remaining three brothers scrambled towards their parents. “Call the union off! You have to!! Buizel can’t marry into Dewott’s family!”  
“Why not? What’d he say?” their father asked.  
“Look. His family has some of the worst values we’ve ever seen.” Zabi said. “He doesn’t even love her; he just sees her as someone to bear offspring for him.”  
“He was so polite towards her when they were growing up together,” their mother said. “I know you don’t like him but don’t make him sound like a bad guy.”  
“We don’t need to!” Zetes argued. “He told us himself, and straight up BOASTED that you wouldn’t believe us! But you have to. For our sister— your daughter’s sake.”  
“Please, Mom?” Ziya begged. “Please say it’s off?”  
“Boys, stop it.” their mother groaned. “This union was decided 14 years ago. It’s way too late to call it off.”  
“No it’s not!” Zetes shouted. “Listen! Their sons are gonna break their fins with his ridiculous training! Their daughters are gonna be brood-otters! You really want that?!”  
“Your mother wouldn’t have arranged it if this was true,” their father said.  
“I don’t care you arranged this!” Zabi yelled. “You’re gonna call this off and you’re gonna do it now!”   
“Enough!!” their mother shouted. “You boys will not interfere with this any further. Now, off you go. There’s still so much planning to do.”  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Zetes raked his paws down his face. “What do we do…?!”  
“We just hope that there’s someone who cares enough about our sister to pull her away from this fate,” Zabi muttered.


End file.
